Dakahlia Governorate (Arabic: محافظة الدقهلية) is one of the nine governorates of the Nile Delta, in the north-east of Egypt. Its capital is Mansoura, and CAPMAS put its population at 7,013,271 in January 2023 across about 3,500 km². The governorate takes its name from Daqahla, a medieval town that now lies inside Damietta Governorate.
| Capital | Mansoura (El Mansoura) |
|---|---|
| Population | 7,013,271 (CAPMAS estimate, January 2023) |
| 2017 census | 6,492,381 |
| Area | about 3,500 km² |
| Density | about 2,000 people per km² |
| Municipal divisions | 17 markaz and 5 kism |
| Telephone code | 050 |
| Region | Nile Delta, east bank of the Damietta branch |
Towns and Villages in Dakahlia Governorate
Dakahlia is divided into 17 markaz, each built around a market town, plus five fully urban kism: El Kurdi, Gamasa, Mit Ghamr, and the two halves of Mansoura city. Around 1,050 populated places in the governorate are mapped in the GeoNames gazetteer. The largest are listed below, grouped under the markaz whose seat town they lie closest to. Villages on a markaz boundary may be administered from the next town along.
Mit Ghamr
Mit Ghamr sits on the east bank of the Damietta branch, 60 km north of Cairo. Its workshops beat aluminium and copper cookware sold across the delta. Population 694,047 (January 2023).
- Mit Ghamr
- Ad Dabbuniyah
- Al Buha
- Al Harbi
- Bashalush
- Bishla
- Buhaydah
- Damas
- Dandit
- Daqadus
- Fisha Bana
- Jisfa
- Kafr Abu Nabhan
- Kafr Abu at Tayyibin
- Kafr Ali Abd Allah
- Kafr Ali Badrah
El Mansoura
The markaz wraps around the governorate capital and takes in the villages on both banks of the Damietta branch. Population 650,178 (January 2023).
- Al Mansurah
- Awish al Hajar
- Bahqirah
- Bandar al Mansurah
- Barq al Izz
- Jaliyah
- Judayyidat al Halah
- Kafr Abu Shawarib
El Senbellawein
El Senbellawein lies in the south of the governorate, on the Bahr Saft canal, and is the market town for a dense belt of cotton villages. Population 605,340 (January 2023).
- As Sinbillawayn
- Abadiyat Darawah
- Abu Qaramit
- Al Bakkariyah
- Al Baqliyah
- Al Bashnayn
- Al Jalayilah
- Al Makhzan
- Al Urman
- Ash Shaalah
- Ash Shurafa
- Az Zahayirah
- Az Zurayqi
- Barqin
- Bashams
- Burj Nur al Arab
- Darawah
- Diyu al Wusta
- Kafr Abd al Amin Hasab Allah
- Kafr Azzam
- Kafr Badawi
- Kafr Bani Salim
- Kafr Mit Ghurab
- Kafr Muhammad ash Shinnawi
Belqas
Belqas covers the north-west of the governorate, where reclaimed land meets the older cultivated basin. Several of its settlements are still known by their reclamation numbers. Population 568,532 (January 2023).
- Bilqas
- Abu Dashishah
- Abu al Futuh
- Al Jawwadiyah
- Al Khazindar
- Al Khilalah
- Al Masarah
- Al Qaryah al Markaziyah
- As Samahah al Kubra
- As Satamuni
- Ash Shawami
- Bisat
- Buhut
- Dimillash
- Kafr Bisat
- Kafr Dumayah al Jadid
- Kafr Mit Zunqur al Jadid
- Kafr al Ghul
- Kafr al Qinan
- Kawm al Yahud
- Mit Zunqur
- Qalabshu
- Qaryat Jalyah al Ula
- Qaryat Jalyah ath Thaniyah
- Qaryat al Baqah
- Qaryat an Nil Raqm Ithnan
Aga
Aga lies south-west of Mansoura on the Mansoura-Zagazig road, among rice and cotton villages. Population 567,756 (January 2023).
- Aga
- Abu Dawud al Inab
- Al Bayluq
- Al Gharraqah
- Al Inshasiyah
- Al Mandarah
- As Sallamiyah
- As Sunaytah
- Buqtaris
- Diyarb Buqtaris
- Hamaqah
- Ikhtab
- Jalmuh
- Kafr Awad as Sunaytah
- Kafr Diyarb Buqtaris
- Kafr Hamaqah
- Kafr Samahah
Shirbin
Shirbin sits on the west bank of the Damietta branch, north of Talkha, and has the largest cluster of kafr villages in the governorate. Population 454,737 (January 2023).
- Shirbin
- Al Hisas
- Al Iyadiyah
- Al Izbah al Bahriyah
- Al Qustantiniyah
- An Najayrah
- Badaway
- Basandilah
- Batrah
- Bisat Karim ad Din
- Dinjaway
- Diyast
- Kafr Abu Fawdah
- Kafr Abu Sayyid Ahmad
- Kafr Abu Zahrah
- Kafr Sharif
- Kafr Umm as Suud
- Kafr Yusif
- Kafr ad Dabusi
- Kafr al Atal
- Kafr al Atrash
- Kafr al Ghannamah
- Kafr al Hajj Shirbini
- Kafr al Hatabah
- Kafr al Qibabi
- Kafr al Wasatah
Talkha
Talkha faces Mansoura across the Damietta branch and holds one of Egypt’s largest nitrogen fertiliser plants. Population 421,037 (January 2023).
- Talkha
- Al Baddalah
- Al Khiyariyah
- Al Manyal
- Judaylah
- Jujar
- Kafr Abu Dabbus
- Kafr Mit Fatik
Dikirnis
Dikirnis lies in the north-east, between El Senbellawein and Lake Manzala. Population 379,591 (January 2023).
- Dikirnis
- Al Azazinah
- Al Khashashinah
- Al Kurama
- Al Mirsah wa al Khashashinah
- Al Qalyubiyah
- Al Qibab as Sughra
- Ashmun ar Rumman
El Manzala
El Manzala sits on the southern shore of Lake Manzala. Fishing, salt and reed cutting shape its village economy. Population 360,649 (January 2023).
- Al Manzalah
- Al Ahmadiyah
- Al Azizah
- Al Bitaniyah
- Al Hiwatah
- Al Hutah
- As Sataytah
- Ash Shubul
- Bani Hilal
- Difriyah
- Kafr at Tirah
- Ezbet el Saiyd Abu Ali
Nabaroh
Nabaroh lies west of Talkha, on the border with Gharbia. Population 301,631 (January 2023).
- Nabaruh
- Ad Dirwatayn
- Afnish
- Banub
- Dirin
- Dumayrah
- Kafr Buhut
- Kafr Dumayrah al Qadim
- Kafr Yusuf Ghunaym
Minyet El Nasr
Minyet El Nasr lies north-east of Mansoura, on the road to Dikirnis. Population 287,468 (January 2023).
- Minyat an Nasr
- Ad Darakisah
- Al Bajalat
- Al Junaynah
- An Nazl
- Birimbal al Jadidah
- Kafr Abu Ali
- Kafr Abu Dhikri
Timay El Imdid
Timay El Imdid lies in the south of the governorate, near the Sharqia boundary. Population 209,103 (January 2023).
- Timayy al Imdid
- Abu Dahish
- Abu Dawud as Sibakh
- Abu as Sir
- Al Baydah
- Al Hasayinah
- Al Imayyid
- Al Kamal
- Al Malhah
- Al Matwah
- Al Mihi
- Al Muqataah
- Ar Rub
- As Safa
- At Tamad al Hajar
- Az Zammar
El Matareya
El Matareya is the main fishing town on Lake Manzala. Most of its villages sit on the lake shore or on drained lake bed. Population 202,191 (January 2023).
- Al Matariyah
- Ad Dibah
- Ad Duhayr
- Al Asafirah
- Al Ghusnah
- Al Hada’idah
- Al Husayniyah
- Al Qatshah
- Al Uqbiyin
Beni Ebeid
Beni Ebeid lies south-east of Mansoura and takes its name from the village of Bani Ubayd. Population 141,856 (January 2023).
- As Salahat
- Abu Ghatati
- Ad Duwaykah
- Al Mahmudiyah
- Al Manshiyah
- Al Yusufiyah
- An Nasimiyah
- Bani Ubayd
- Diyarb al Khudr
- Kafr Hijji
- Minsha’at al Amir
- Mit Adlan
- Mit Faris
- Mit Mahmud
- Mit Suwayd wa Tubayl
- Mit Tarif
El Gamaliya
El Gamaliya lies east of Mansoura, towards the Damietta boundary. Population 138,291 (January 2023).
- Al Jammaliyah
- Al Basrat
- Al Mawajid
- Al Qurmah
- Ar Rafayiah
- Kafr Hajjaj
- Mit Khudayr
- Mit Mirajja Salsil
- Mit Sharif
Mit Salsil
Mit Salsil lies in the east of the governorate, next to the El Kurdi kism. Population 73,417 (January 2023).
- Mit Salsil
- Kafr al Kurdi
- Al Jawabir
- Al Kafr al Jadid
- Al Kurdul
- Ar Riyad
- Birimbal al Qadimah
- Qaryat al Ittihad
- Ezbet Saiyid Hasan
- Izbat Abd al Al
- Izbat Abd al Latif al Mikbati
- Izbat Abu Dayf
Mahallat Damana
Mahallat Damana is the smallest markaz by population, set between Talkha and Shirbin. Population 67,665 (January 2023).
- Mahallat Damanah
- Ad Danabiq
- Al Baramun
- Al Khalij
- Al Qibab al Kubra
- An Nadhah
- An Nasirah
- Ar Raydaniyah
- Ash Shaykh Ridwan
- At Tawilah
- Biddin
- Dimeshalt
Geography
Dakahlia occupies the central-eastern delta. The Damietta branch of the Nile runs through it from south to north, splitting Mansoura from Talkha, and its northern edge reaches Lake Manzala, Egypt’s largest brackish lagoon. Land is flat, under two metres above sea level in the north, and cut by the Bahr Saft, Bahr Mit Yazid and Mansoura-Manzala canals.
It borders Damietta to the north-east, Port Said across Lake Manzala to the east, Sharqia to the south and south-east, Gharbia to the west, and Kafr el-Sheikh to the north-west. A short Mediterranean frontage at Gamasa gives the governorate its only coastline.
Demographics
The population rose from 4,223,338 in 1996 to 4,989,997 in 2006 and 6,492,381 at the 2017 census. CAPMAS estimated 7,013,271 in January 2023 and 7,050,004 by mid-2023. That is growth of about two thirds in under 30 years.
Dakahlia stays overwhelmingly rural. Of the mid-2023 estimate, 4,914,521 people lived in villages and 2,135,483 in towns, so roughly seven in ten residents are counted as rural. Mansoura, Mit Ghamr, Talkha and Bilqas hold most of the urban share. Density is close to 2,000 people per km², among the highest in the delta.
Economy and Local Life
Farming still employs most working people. The main crops are cotton, rice, wheat, maize and potatoes, with citrus and guava orchards near the river. Buffalo and dairy herds are kept village by village, and weekly markets in Aga, Dikirnis and El Senbellawein set the local prices.
Industry clusters in three places. Talkha holds a large nitrogen fertiliser complex fed by natural gas. Mit Ghamr makes aluminium and copper cookware and household ware, a trade that dates to the 1950s; the town also hosted Egypt’s first interest-free savings bank experiment in 1963. El Matareya and El Manzala live off Lake Manzala fishing, salt works and reed cutting, though the lake has shrunk under land reclamation. Mansoura adds a university, a teaching hospital and the governorate’s retail trade, and Gamasa draws Egyptian summer visitors to its beach.
History
Mansoura was founded in 1219 by the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil as a fortified camp facing the Crusader army that had taken Damietta. Its name means “the victorious”. In February 1250 the Egyptian army defeated the Seventh Crusade at the Battle of Mansurah, and in April that year Louis IX of France was captured and held in the house of Ibn Luqman, which still stands as a museum.
The governorate itself is named after Daqahla, a town that was its administrative seat under the Mamluks and now falls inside Damietta. Dakahlia was merged with Damietta for parts of the 19th and 20th centuries; Damietta was separated again in 1960.
Getting There
Mansoura is about 120 km north of Cairo. The usual road route is the Cairo-Benha-Zagazig agricultural road, then the Zagazig-Mansoura road, a drive of roughly two hours. The International Coastal Road crosses the north of the governorate and links Gamasa with Damietta and Port Said.
Trains run from Cairo Ramses to Mansoura via Benha and Zagazig, and a branch line continues to Damietta. Long-distance buses and shared microbuses use the Mansoura terminal near the river. The nearest airports are Port Said (about 110 km) and Cairo International (about 140 km).
FAQ
What is the capital of Dakahlia Governorate?
Mansoura is the capital. It sits on the Damietta branch of the Nile and had 650,178 people in its markaz in January 2023.
How many towns and villages are in Dakahlia?
About 1,050 populated places in the governorate are mapped in the GeoNames gazetteer, from market towns to single hamlets. Administratively they are grouped under 17 markaz and 5 kism.
What is the population of Dakahlia?
CAPMAS estimated 7,013,271 people in January 2023, up from 6,492,381 at the 2017 census.
Which governorates border Dakahlia?
Damietta, Port Said, Sharqia, Gharbia and Kafr el-Sheikh. Lake Manzala forms much of the eastern boundary.
What is the phone code for Dakahlia?
The area code is 050, used for Mansoura and the rest of the governorate.
How far is Mansoura from Cairo?
About 120 km by road, or roughly two hours via the agricultural road through Benha and Zagazig.